Ottawa is expected to unveil its promised carbon capture investment tax credit in next week’s federal budget.
“We shouldn’t see this as a silver bullet.
The technology is expensive and has been slow to scale up, in spite of having been around for decades.
The emissions reduction plan tabled by the federal government Tuesday envisions total emissions from the oil and gas sector – including production, refining and transportation via pipelines – falling to 110 million tonnes by 2030, down from 191 million tonnes in 2019.
“There is a significant role for carbon capture in decarbonizing the oil and gas industry,” said Simon Dyer, the Pembina Institute’s deputy executive director.
“I understand the government’s under a lot of pressure from industry, especially oil and gas, who continue to hold out hope that there’s some kind of tech solution that doesn’t involve reducing the amount of oil and gas that we extract,” said Sven Biggs, of Stand.
Sara Hastings-Simon, an energy and climate policy expert at the University of Calgary’s School of Public Policy, said that carbon capture and storage technology could potentially be an “interim” solution that helps to serve as a bridge during the clean energy transition.